Interesting. I wonder if this means Fulham will be looking to make a big splash in this transfer window.

Also, this guy has a net worth of 1.65 billion pounds and is only the 179th richest person in the US? I had no idea we had so many billionaires.

We shall see. Fulham still isn't a big name, all their success has really come in the last 10+ years. Recently, they have been able to draw decent names that were starting to decline, i.e. Berbatov, Duff, Riise, etc. I think Jol is a decent coach. If given time, I could see him turning them into a perennial Europa League team maybe akin to Everton under Moyes. I wouldn't be surprised if the new owner wants to bring in a bigger name that is his guy though.

WDWBurghGooner wrote:So, we know Wondo can score against crap opposition.

Yeah, I'm torn about how to rate Wondo. I used to be certain that he was one of those guys who could score in MLS, but didn't have the physical or technical attributes to succeed at the international level. I still think that, but I'm starting to have some doubts. I think any decent striker would have finished on 4 of the 6 goals he's scored in the past 3 games, but his 3rd goal vs. Belize and his 1st one against Cuba came from very well-timed runs, were tricky finishes, and were scored despite pretty tight marking. It will be interesting to see how he does in the tougher games going forward.

I haven't really watched Wondo enough to have a decent opinion on him. Along the lines of what you said, he seems to pop up in the right places at the rights times. That's not something you can teach nor is it something you can really defend. There is something to be said for that type of goal scorer even if he is never going to create goals on his own.

Team looked great once Klinsi got Brek Shea out of Castillo's way. The wide players got more narrow in the second letting the fullbacks fill that void.

Wondolowski was a late bloomer, even in the MLS. Up until about 4 years ago, he was more known for being a great athlete than a good soccer player. Still, it's tough to take much from him scoring goals against this competition. Will be interesting to see how he does the rest of the tournament.

I hope Brek Shea is done with team USA on that point. I have yet to see a cap from him where it looked like he was capable of performing at this level. He is slow on his decision making, and still manages to make bad decisions.

Rylan wrote:I hope Brek Shea is done with team USA on that point. I have yet to see a cap from him where it looked like he was capable of performing at this level. He is slow on his decision making, and still manages to make bad decisions.

To his defense, he's been injured and was rusty. But he is way too inconsistent to be in the national team setup. His value is that he provides a true wide option, something the US lacks in the midfield. Then again, I question whether they really need that.

Rylan wrote:I hope Brek Shea is done with team USA on that point. I have yet to see a cap from him where it looked like he was capable of performing at this level. He is slow on his decision making, and still manages to make bad decisions.

I'm glad somebody else feels this way. It seems like so many US fans are convinced Shea has all this ability and just needs more opportunities to show it at the international level. From what I've seen, the only way he is effective is if he just pushes the ball by people out wide and can beat them with speed. He doesn't seem to have the technical ability or soccer brain to participate in a quick, short-passing game or beat defenders who don't let him get turned and push the ball by them. I hope he figures things out, but I'm not optimistic.

Rylan wrote:I hope Brek Shea is done with team USA on that point. I have yet to see a cap from him where it looked like he was capable of performing at this level. He is slow on his decision making, and still manages to make bad decisions.

I'm glad somebody else feels this way. It seems like so many US fans are convinced Shea has all this ability and just needs more opportunities to show it at the international level. From what I've seen, the only way he is effective is if he just pushes the ball by people out wide and can beat them with speed. He doesn't seem to have the technical ability or soccer brain to participate in a quick, short-passing game or beat defenders who don't let him get turned and push the ball by them. I hope he figures things out, but I'm not optimistic.

I can see there could be potential in him to be a valuable asset to the team, but he hasn't been improving from when I first saw him debut for the US. He makes the same mistakes and just seems to lack the creativity needed to be an effective attacking midfielder. But his physical tools are enough to maybe get him into these types of events, but I don't know how much more they can give him before its time to just say no.

Shea trained with Arsenal back in January of 2012, it wasn't even considered a trial. I assume Wenger did it as a favor to Klinsmann because of their time together at Monaco. When no European teams showed any interest, I figured it was because Shea isn't all that good. Anytime I have watched him for the USMNT I have not been impressed. Stoke was actually toying with him as a fullback.

Wynalda gets a bit annoying during broadcasts, but his point about Shea letting the ball bounce on those two cross-field passes was spot on. The guy lacks confidence and when he's off, he's like a black hole.

He's also an interesting case because up until 2-3 years ago, no one really knew what his best position was. He started as a wide player, many thought he would become a central striker, some even thought he'd be a better centerback. I think that's largely still the case, as is noted above, Stoke was looking at him as an outside back.

pfim wrote:Wynalda gets a bit annoying during broadcasts, but his point about Shea letting the ball bounce on those two cross-field passes was spot on. The guy lacks confidence and when he's off, he's like a black hole.

He's also an interesting case because up until 2-3 years ago, no one really knew what his best position was. He started as a wide player, many thought he would become a central striker, some even thought he'd be a better centerback. I think that's largely still the case, as is noted above, Stoke was looking at him as an outside back.

I agree that an outside back would be a perfect placement for him. It would at least be worth experimenting with.

Kraftster wrote:Who made the pass up to Donovan? Was it Goodson? That was well placed as well. But, yeah, what a pass by Donovan.

I didn't see it but I heard it was Corona. That play harkens back to the Brazil match in the Confed Cup, the goal against Algeria in the last World Cup. Classic counter-attack, classic Donovan. No one on the US sees and understands space better than him.

pfim wrote:So, that's why Donovan will be in the starting XI for 2014. No one else in the player pool could make that play, that quickly. It was world-class.

Midfield struggled, needed a holding player which Holden and Diskerud are not.

Strong at CB and in goal. I really like Johnson. Good chance he gets his shot after Guzan if his career progresses.

Costa Rica had no desire to attack, so in a way it was always going to be a patient wait for the goal. Still, the first half was very blah.

I'm not sure if you mean general player pool or the Gold Cup player pool. Bradley definitely has that pass in his locker. But your point stands that very few U.S. players would think of making that pass let alone being able to pull it off. I was always a basher of Donovan until the 2009 Confed Cup. That opened up my eyes to his play as did the 2010 WC. He really is incredibly valuable to the U.S. Too bad he isn't about 4 yrs younger.

I'm not even sure Bradley has that sort of awareness in attack. At any rate, both of them will be on the field next summer. Hopefully in a team with Dempsey that pushes Donovan to wider areas where I think he's more influential than where he's been playing.